The Harvard framework
The other founding fathers of HRM were the Harvard School of Beer et al(1984) who
developed what Boxall (1992) calls the ‘Harvard framework’. This framework is
based on the belief that the problems of historical personnel management can only be
solved:
when general managers develop a viewpoint of how they wish to see employees
involved in and developed by the enterprise, and of what HRM policies and practices
may achieve those goals. Without either a central philosophy or a strategic vision –
which can be provided onlyby general managers – HRM is likely to remain a set of
independent activities, each guided by its own practice tradition.Beer and his colleagues believed that ‘Today, many pressures are demanding a
broader, more comprehensive and more strategic perspective with regard to the orga-
nization’s human resources.’ These pressures have created a need for: ‘A longer-term
perspective in managing people and consideration of people as potential assets rather
than merely a variable cost.’ They were the first to underline the HRM tenet that it
belongs to line managers. They also stated that: ‘Human resource management
involves all management decisions and action that affect the nature of the relation-
ship between the organization and its employees – its human resources.’
6 ❚ Managing people
Selection managementPerformance PerformanceRewardsDevelopmentFigure 1.2 The Human Resource Cycle (adapted from Fombrun et al,1984)